The much anticipated, and sometimes controversial, next installment in the Battlefield franchise is here. There are many aspects to the game, like the World War II setting for example, which have gamers questioning whether or not we need yet another FPS set in the same era in history, especially in light of last year's Call of Duty WWII. The thing that has had most of us tech enthusiasts waiting with baited breath, however, is the chance to finally see NVIDIA's GeForce RTX real-time Ray Tracing effects live, in an actual game. Battlefield is indeed the first publicly available game to use...Read more...

Cryptocurrency has been a hot topic in 2018, and Google claims that “What is bitcoin?” was one of its top questions this year. A lot of people (and companies) jumped on the cryptocurrency train, including Razer. The company is now offering users store credit in exchange for cryptocurrency mining. But is this program too good to be true? Many argue that the Razer SoftMiner rewards program is misleading and exploitative. How does this rather confusing program work? Users are asked to download SoftMiner, a blockchain-based app that has been integrated into Razer’s software. The software...Read more...

The year was 1986. Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history, The Oprah Winfrey Show debuted on television, and Puma released a super nerdy computer running shoe to help users track their running distance. The running shoes were short-lived, but have found a new home in the era of Stranger Things and Ghostbusters remakes. Puma will re-release an updated version of the RS-Computer shoe for a limited time. In 1986 the RS-Computer shoe had a computer chip built into the heel of the shoe. It recorded a user’s running time, distances, and calories burned. This information...Read more...

Fallout 76 players may finally have one thing to smile about. Bethesda has promised that Fallout 76: Power Armor Edition customers will receive replacement canvas bags. The canvas bag debacle is just one of the many difficulties surrounding the release of Fallout 76. Fallout 76: Power Armor Edition customers should a submit a ticket to Bethesda’s support site by January 31, 2019 to receive their canvas bag. Customers must provide proof of purchase, which must include the product name, date of purchase, and purchase amount. If a customer purchased their game from Xbox Live, PlayStation, or...Read more...

Music lovers rejoice! Plex Music and TIDAL have teamed up to bring users a wide variety of high quality content. Users will be able more easily discover new content, listen to personalized playlists, and enjoy better sound quality with the TIDAL on Plex subscription. TIDAL is a music streaming-service that is partly owned by Jay-Z and other musical artists. The service provides lossless audio quality, high-definition music videos, and exclusive content. Although TIDAL provides great content, many people balk at its high price tag and lack of accessibility. In the United States, the standard premium...Read more...

All that is old is new again. Big Mouth Billy Bass, an animatronic largemouth bass, is now compatible with Amazon’s Alexa. The late 1990’s classic singing animatronic can mow be paired with any Alexa-enabled device. According to Steve Harris, vice president of product development at Gemmy Industries, “This is not your father’s Big Mouth Billy Bass.” Big Mouth Billy Bass is now programmed to respond to Alexa voice commands and lip sync with Alexa’s responses. He will answer questions about the weather, the news, and other inquiries, react to notifications and...Read more...

Every year, Black Friday and the Christmas shopping season seem to become more momentous. We have already seen several large retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, Microsoft, Sam's Club, Staples, and Target "leak: Black Friday adds in an attempt to offer select deals early. Even with so many deals out there, however, it can be exceedingly difficult to pick the perfect gift for tech-loving friends and family. But we're here to help! This guide aims to help you pick the perfect gift by listing items that are perfect for the tech enthusiasts in your life. Of course, many of these gifts...Read more...

Bethesda's latest installment in the Fallout series is here, but if you are a die hard fan of the previous versions of the game, this may be the Fallout you'll want to pass on. Although everyone will have their own in my personal opinion, Fallout 76 could be considered the worst in series or a sellout of the worst kind. Heads-up, you guessed it, this is an op-ed view of Bethesda's new game. Before we dive into some of the problems that currently plague Fallout 76, in the interest of fairness I should point out that part of my dislike for this game comes from watching another one of my long...Read more...

Are you a big Jimmy Fallon fan? Well, now his jokes can follow you throughout your home. In a new collaboration with Amazon, Jimmy Fallon will provide a stream of corny jokes for Amazon Alexa-enabled Echo and other devices. If you ask Alexa to “tell me a joke”, she will introduce you to her “friend Jimmy”. Fallon announced on his show, “For the first time ever, [Amazon is] using a voice other than Alexa’s to tell you a joke—and that voice is me.” Fallon worked alongside Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon writers to develop exclusive content for the...Read more...

Another holiday shopping season is upon us, and Microsoft is ready to charge in with discounts on its Xbox One consoles, games and accessories. From November 18 until November 26, Microsoft will offer its powerful Xbox One X console for just $399.99. If that’s too steep for your wallet, then you can also save $100 on a Xbox One S Minecraft Creators bundle, or there is a $70 discount on select other Xbox One S bundles. Microsoft will also sell its Xbox One wireless controllers with a $10 discount between 11/22 and 11/26. These offers are made all the more tantalizing by a free digital copy...Read more...

Gaming headsets are a dime a dozen these days, particularly with the explosion of eSports drawing the attention of PC peripheral companies, new and old. Be that as it may, HP figured out a way to stand out from the crowd with its new Omen Mindframe, the first audio headset to employ an active cooling solution inside each of the earcups. Say goodbye to sweaty ears, if that is something you find yourself battling against amid the throes of the frag. Before we dive into the headset, let's quickly reflect on the Omen brand. Omen is essentially a rebirth of the VoodooPC acquisition HP made more than...Read more...

It's an old joke that every new Call of Duty game is just like the last, but if you say that about Black Ops 4 (or "IV"), chances are you're not actually paying attention. This game marks a major departure for the series, in that there is no focus on a single-player campaign (though solo elements still exist). Instead, the game's developer pads the mainstay multi-player modes with Call of Duty's first take on the Battle Royale genre. Like that old Call of Duty joke, it's also become somewhat comical that nearly all game developers now want to integrate Battle Royale into their games. Who...Read more...

When Acer debuted its Predator Helios 300 laptop line a little over a year ago, it quickly garnered praise for delivering an unexpected level of gaming performance for the price. At the time, the Predator Helios 300 came equipped with an assortment of hardware that could typically be found only on more expensive laptops. As such, we've had multiple requests to get our hands on one of the newer models and give it a full review. Well, for those who asked (and those who didn't), that's exactly what we're doing here. This past summer, Acer refreshed its Predator Helios 300 with an upgraded display...Read more...

NVIDIA's Max-Q technology has only been on the market for about a year, but in that time quite few OEMs have jumped on the bandwagon. And for good reason. Max-Q is, or wants to be, the answer to a problem that has plagued mobile gamers since the first gaming laptop was birthed, spanked, and shipped off into the real world. We are, of course, talking about size. Bigger is not always better, especially in the mobile computing market. Most gaming laptops are bulky, heavy, and short on battery life. With Max-Q, NVIDIA is looking to change this by focusing on what they call the sweet spot when it comes...Read more...